The Giant of Provence

The first time I heard the word Ventoux, it was not in context of the famed mountain often ridden in the Tour de France but rather a region that was producing bright, light and fruity wines, particularly roses with the Cotes du Ventoux AOC designation.

As I got into cycling a couple of years ago, I started hearing about Mont Ventoux, a mountain of near mythical status amongst cyclists.  Along with Tourmalet, Galibier and Alpe D'Huez it is regarded as sacred ground and has produced some of the highest drama in the Tour de France.  To many it is the hardest single climb on the Tour due to it's length, steepness and weather conditions. But more on that later.....

Shortly before I arrived in Avignon by TGV almost two months ago, I got my first glimpse of Ventoux, her brilliant white top rising to a peak of more than 6,200 ft, she dominates the landscape towering  4,000 ft higher than any of the nearest peaks.  As I made my way from the train station to the village of Menerbes, she was a constant companion and during my travels around the Luberon her ubiquitous presence became a source of comfort .................. and a challenge.

Ventoux, she dominates the landscape

Like a siren she has called to me every day, one day I even ventured up her slopes by car to see what lay ahead, it was formidable but I felt that I had cheated her in some way.  It was then that I resolved the next time we met I would be au vélo.  

So I ramped up my hill climbing training and decided that Aug 15th was the day.  There are three roads that ascend Ventoux, one each from the towns of Sault, Bedoin and Malaucene.  For the statisticians among you, the climb from Sault is the easiest but the longest at 16.2 miles and an elevation gain of 4,002 ft. The Malaucene route is 13 miles and 5,151ft climbing and Bedoin, regarded as the hardest, is 13.4 miles and 5,282ft climbing. The Bedoin route is the one used in the Tour de France and is regarded by many to be one of the hardest if not the hardest used on the Tour. As mentioned above, the reasons for this are not only the length and grade of the climb but also the weather conditions. At any of the starting points it can be very hot, often hitting 100 deg by mid morning which can dehydrate you fast.  Then there is the wind.......... Ventoux derives it's name from the french for windy and the wind almost always blows and blows hard. Wind speeds over 200mph have been recorded on the mountain and it blows at more than 56mph over 240 days in the year on average.  This can make ascents and descents extremely hard and often dangerous.

My plan was to ride my bike over to the closest of the start points, Sault, a mere 26 miles away and begin my climb from there.  Although sounding good in theory,  I didn't realize just how hilly a ride it was.  The first 21 miles were all uphill and by the time I got to Sault I had already registered over 3,800 ft of climbing, oh well.  Leaving my house at 7:00 I took a route that went up past Goult and between Joucas and Gordes weaving my way through lovely vineyards burgeoning with ripening grapes.  Near Joucas I was treated to the sight of several hot air balloons majestically flying overhead,  I wasn't the only one up early at least :)

Hot air balloons drifting over the vineyards

The ride up toward Joucas was pleasant enough but as I went passed the town of Lioux, the road started to climb significantly.  The next 15 miles were a slog climbing up through the Bois de Lioux and the Combe de Sigalière with no interruption to the climb until I reached the town of St. Jean.  It was a tough but beautiful climb with virtually no cars or people in sight.  After 2 1/2 hours I reached the town of Sault.  As a popular start point for the climb, the town was already buzzing with cyclists ready to take on the Le Montagne.  I stopped at a Boulangerie on the main square and picked up some croissants and then popped round to a cafe to enjoy them with a cafe creme. Nourished, I refilled my water bottles and set off to meet the mountain.

The beautiful climb out of Lioux

The first mile or two was an easy descent from Sault and then the next 2-3 miles were a gentle climb that could easily lull you into a false sense of security. A sharp bend in the road introduced a much steeper incline and Ventoux began to show her teeth. The air temperature was climbing quickly now and was already at 92 deg at 10:00 am.  I was riding through a forested area so was mainly shielded from the wind but every so often a gust came through the trees a portend of things to come.  I was feeling quite good and got into a nice easy rhythm.  Dozens of cyclists who had already made the ascent came flying down, many yelling "bonne journée" or "bon courage". For some reason this further spurred me on and shortly the road began to level out, a sign that I was approaching the famous Chalet Reynard.  This little outpost, sitting alone on the south face of Ventoux is a popular spot to stop and recharge your drinks on the ascent or rest and enjoy a nice lunch after reaching the  top.  It is the biker bar of biker bars :)  There was great energy here, both the euphoria of riders who had already summited and were on the way down and others that were anxiously preparing for the tough last 4 miles of the climb.

The Chalet Reynard, the biker bar of biker bars!!

After enjoying a few minutes of people watching, a quick espresso and refilling my water bottles it was time to push on for the summit. The Chalet Reynard signifies  a change in both the difficulty of the climb and the terrain itself.  Now out of the forest, the final ascent is the steepest part of the climb and the most exposed.  No trees or vegetation of any kind just the limestone rocks that give the mountain its snow capped look from a distance but up close resembles more a moonscape.  The rocks help reflect the heat of the sun making you even hotter and the wind blows with a malicious ferocity. These last few miles were tough with an average grade of 8% and many sections that were 15-20%, I was trying to keep my rhythm up the steep incline but at the same time grabbing the handlebars with a death grip to keep from being blown off the road.  A few kilometers below I had passed a sign that said "Col Ouvert" and now I realized what that was about.  There must be many days in the year when this road is just impassable due to high winds.  

I should bloody well hope so!!

My speed hovered between 4.5-5 mph but I managed to keep upright and with a last push, rounded the bend for the summit.  It was a glorious moment.  The pain and effort of the past few hours and disappeared, replaced by a sense of achievement and agape at the tremendous views. You can see the Alps and the Mediterranean from the summit and virtually the whole of Provence lays below you.  It was a heady feeling.  I had ridden a total of 45 miles and climbed almost 8,000 ft a tough ride by any standard.

Not far to go now

At the summit, happy and feeling great!

After a lot of picture taking and some banter with other cyclists it was time for the descent and the 45 mile ride home.  But first things first, my stomach told me it was time for lunch!  I decided to stop for lunch at Chalet Reynard on my way back.  

The climb up Ventoux has seen a lot of drama and sadly this included the death of an English cyclist, Tom Simpson, at that point the most successful British cyclist ever, in 1967.  Simpson collapsed and died a few hundred meters from the summit due to dehydration and the fact that he had taken methamphetamine and brandy prior to the race.  There is a memorial to Simpson at the spot of his death and I stopped there to pay my respects on the way down. It was a somber moment.

Memorial to fallen cyclist Tom Simpson

At Chalet Reynard I was revived by an Omelet Ventoux et Frites or egg and chips to the rest of you :)  I laid off the wine as I still had 40 miles to ride but a large coffee got me ready for the hopefully swift journey home.

The bright side of suffering up a climb is that one is always rewarded with a descent.  Now I may not be the best descender in the world but I enjoy going downhill fast on a bike and have no qualms even at speeds of 50-60 mph. So as I left Chalet Reynard I was relishing the descent into Sault.  However, in many ways this turned out to be the toughest part of the entire ride and certainly the most nerve racking.  You see the road surface to Sault is incredibly poor, filled with potholes, ruts, humps and bumps that threaten a broken spoke or flat tire at any moment.  Add to this the fact that the wind was now blowing hard, a steady 30 mph with gusts that must have been over 50 and you have a hair-raising scenario.  Indeed by the time I arrived back in Sault my hands and wrists were so fatigued from gripping the handlebars and the brakes that they were actually numb.  I barely reached 40 mph on the descent and even that was probably foolish.  Why oh why can't the government re-pave such an iconic road?

After Sault there was a brief climb to the Sault plateau and then a nice 20 mile descent all the way to Menerbes.  I arrived home tired but elated, 90 miles and 10 hours after leaving.  I had finally met Ventoux properly and she had shared herself with me.  I will climb her again soon but that is the subject of another blog entry.  À bientôt ma cherie!!

You can see more photos from my ride to Ventoux here